


A Play and a Present

by Etharei



Category: Queer as Folk (US)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2006-12-25
Updated: 2006-12-25
Packaged: 2017-10-11 21:27:52
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,409
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/117308
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Etharei/pseuds/Etharei
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Gus is in the Christmas play in his school in Toronto. Of families and coming home.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Play and a Present

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Severina](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Severina/gifts).



> Written for the lovely severina2001 in the 2006 Christmas Gift Exchange at qaf_giftxchnge.
> 
> Her request  
> First Gift Request: Fanfic  
> Genre: Schmoop; Humour  
> Pairing/character/theme/focus: Brian/Justin  
> Other specifications: If Post-513, the boys are together (did not break up in 513); No Brian/Other or Justin/Other.

Justin was pretty sure that he hit a handful of people with the duffel bag swinging dangerously behind him, but for once he was tossing the manners his mother had carefully drilled into his childhood self to the whistling Canadian wind, so to speak, because some things were far more important than what total strangers he'd probably never see again thought of him.

One of them, and the reason for which his Gucci-clad feet were pounding industriously away across the polished floor of the airport at Toronto, was the Christmas play at Gus' school. He absently wished that he'd been wearing his usual battered sneakers, but he'd pretty much rushed out of an interview with a magazine about his upcoming show and boarded a plane with only a single change of clothing and his passport.

He tried not to think about what Brian would say about what he was doing to his thousand-dollar genuine leather footwear. On the other hand, his lover really should know better than to give him shoes that expensive.

His heart sank when he saw the thick crowd in the waiting area, most of whom held aloft boards bearing names or craning their necks and waving frantically. How the fuck was he supposed to find Mel in all-? Oh, there she was. He grinned when he saw that the people around her were giving her space; a newcomer bumped into her from behind, and the expression she directed at him (Justin couldn't see from his angle) made him blanch and back off immediately.

"How late am I?" he gasped as he reached her. She grabbed his bag and began walking quickly enough that he didn't even have to slow down much from his jog.

"We've got half an hour." Melanie answered, leading the way to the parking lot. "And Lindsay says these things usually get delayed at least fifteen minutes."

"Thanks again for picking me up. I really would have been fine with taking a cab-"

"In this weather?" Melanie grinned. "And to be honest, you're doing me a favour. I love Gus, and having JR made me realise that I have a maternal side, after all. But that doesn't mean I relish the idea of being in a room full of screaming kids."

Justin chuckled. "I guess you have a point; I can't see you pinning up costumes and painting faces, either. But Lindsay said they school needed a lot of parent volunteers- won't they be short-staffed with you here?"

"They would be." Reaching a beige Sedan, Melanie took out her keys and quickly unlocked the car. "If I hadn't signed Brian up into taking my place. Without telling him, of course."

Justin stared at Melanie, open-mouthed, then laughed as he got into the passenger side of the car. "Come on, I'd hate to miss Brian's debut as a PTA Dad."

#

Being blessed with the good looks that he had, Brian was used to being stared at, and usually enjoyed being the centre of attention and the bona fide object of lust. However, there was something ridiculously... inappropriate about it when someone was paying him such homage while he was preparing his son for a school pageant on a supposedly religious school event. To make it even worse, the person presently casting him longing looks every nine seconds was female, and the mother of someone in Gus' class.

Not that he would do anything if all of the gay men in Canada paraded in front of him wearing only leather jockstraps. The cancer had left him only one real ball, after all.

"Check out my beard, Pops!" Gus crowed enthusiastically, bouncing to a stop in front of Brian with a face swathed in fluffy cotton.

"That's a very cool beard you've got there, sonny boy," Brian said with a smile that he didn't even have to force. "Are you sure you're not too old? Scrap that, are you sure you can actually _see_?" He considered making it clear to the lady in charge of make-up and props that no force on Earth could save her ass if his son fell off the stage because he did not have full peripheral vision.

"I can see fine, Pops," Gus said. "And I'm supposed to be old! I'm one of the Three Kings!"

"I know, son. I was just checking." He patted the boy on the head, and grinned when Gus darted off to look at himself in the mirror once again and sweet-talk the costume lady (aka his mother) into making another adjustment. Yup, definitely his son.

"Your son looks _just_ like you," Miss Admirer spoke up, smiling at her own daughter (who appeared to be either an extremely old King, or a sheep). "And I'm sure he'll be as handsome as his dad when he grows up."

"Thank you. But I hope he gets his mother's personality," he said with only a little sarcasm, unable to think of anything besides variations of 'Fuck off, lady, I'm not into twat'.

"Ms. Peterson always speaks well of you," the woman continued, unsubtly moving closer to Brian. "Ms. Marcus is a lovely woman, of course, but I can't imagine how any woman could leave a man like _you_."

Brian blinked. "I'm sorry, but you think that-"

"Helen, hi!" interrupted Lindsay, smiling in that overly bright way of hers that indicated to Brian that she was butting in on purpose. "I see you've met Brian, Gus' father. You know, the one who's _gay_."

Helen smiled at Lindsay in a fake and unpleasant way. "Oh, I wasn't sure if I heard you correctly. Besides, I just wanted to introduce myself. He is every bit as _gorgeous_ as you said." She turned dark, sultry eyes towards him. "If I had a man like him father my child, I'd never let him get away, even if I have to chain him to the bedpost."

Her words and the downward flicker of her eyes were probably meant to be seductive, but Brian had to lock his knees in order to prevent himself from backing away. "Helen, is it? Please don't take this the wrong way, but I really am not interested in p-" A miniature brown-haired ball of energy bounced off his leg, and he remembered in time where he was. "I'm not into women. So please, just go back to your daughter."

The woman blinked at him, looking like she was having difficulty processing his words. From behind them the stage manager called, "Everyone, to your places!"

Lindsay tugged on his arm. "Come on, Brian, we've got seats at the front."

#

They arrived approximately three seconds before the auditorium went dark and the curtains rose. Not wanting to cause a disruption and possibly distract Gus when he came on, Justin followed Melanie to a seat near the back.

Despite being somewhat exhausted from his plane ride, Justin gave the show his full attention. Gus appeared nervous, insofar as it was possible to tell through the mountain of cotton someone had stuck on him, but delivered his lines clearly and fluidly; it sounded weirdly a lot like Brian in presentation-mode. When the show finished without any of the sheep falling off the stage (which one of them, a little mousy girl, looked dangerously close to doing at one point) or Mary tripping over Baby Jesus in his haystack, the whole audience rose to their feet in a standing ovation. Justin and Melanie unabashedly whistled and cheered Gus' name, but the tallest of the Three Kings clearly had his eyes on a couple sitting right on the front row.

The children filed away and the lights went back on. In the ensuing chaos of jubilant children and proud parents, Justin momentarily lost sight of Melanie and nearly got jostled right out of the auditorium. When he pushed his way back in, he bumped into her from behind, but instead of snapping at him, she seemed transfixed at something in the distance.

"Sorry, this is like Times Square at lunch hour," he said, stopping when he followed her gaze.

Near where they'd been sitting earlier, Lindsay and Brian were standing and talking, the joy in their faces evident. Then Brian turned, somehow knowing that it was Gus even before the little boy, still bedecked in cotton, managed to shove his way fully out of the crowd at the door towards the backstage area. Gus threw himself at his father, laughing loudly and whooping when Brian easily picked him up. Lindsay, also laughing, leaned in to kiss him on the cheek, and for a long moment the three of them stood, a happy family huddle.

"They look so beautiful," Melanie whispered. "Shit, they make a perfect family."

Justin threw her a look. "Except for one thing," he interjected. "It's not each other they want to be with."

"Really?" At Justin's questioning look, Melanie went on. "From the day I fell in love with Lindsay, I've known that there will always be a part of her that belongs to Brian. I try not to think about it a lot, but it's moments like this... I want to turn around and just walk away. Let them be a family this world can accept."

Taken aback by sentiment behind Melanie's words, Justin cocked his head. "Do you really believe that? That you can just walk away, that Lindsay won't come after you? That Gus won't ask where you've gone, or miss you?"

She let out a long breath. "No, I guess not."

Justin had never felt particularly close to Mel, but they'd always had an easy friendship, and though Melanie's animosity towards Brian had only waned a tiny fraction over the years, she and Justin had never actually butted heads over it. As it were. "Mel, what brought this on? Has something happened?"

She pursed her lips. "None of the kids know, but the teachers were considering Gus for the role of Joseph. Unfortunately some of them felt that certain traditionalist parents would be offended that the child of same-sex parents would play a prominent figure in a religious re-enactment. The official reason, of course, is that they gave the three tallest boys the role of the Three Kings. Gus was ecstatic when he found out, he was pretty sure he'd be made an animal, so we didn't press the issue."

"Shit," Justin muttered, earning him a glare from a passing mother. "Does Brian know?"

Melanie shrugged. "I'm leaving it up to Lindsay whether or not to tell him. I don't think she has, though."

"I'm sorry, Mel," he said. "I know you hoped things would be different here."

"Yeah." She smiled at him fondly. "That night you met Brian for the first time- if you'd known everything that was going to happen, would you still have gone with him?"

"Yes," Justin answered without hesitation, the fierce conviction in his eyes indicative of long hours spent contemplating such a question. "Yes."

"Debbie always said you were a brave kid," Melanie murmured, as if to herself. She hesitated, then, "You're every much a parent to Gus as I am; you know that, right?"

The words earned her the full Sunshine smile. "Not really, but thanks for saying it."

"Why not?"

"You mean, apart from you having the legal rights and been the one taking care of him since he was born?"

"Brian was hardly there when Gus was a baby," Melanie pointed out. "And don't forget- you were the one who named him. The rights I have were given to me by Brian; his name is something he'll always carry."

"Unless he goes berserk when he hits his teenage years and changes his name," Justin quipped with a grin.

"Or that." Melanie chuckled. "Come on, Dad, let's go get our kid before his biological parents spoil him beyond repair."

#

Brian inwardly groaned when he spotted Helen heading towards them. Unfortunately Gus was still recounting the entire experience from his point of view on-stage, and Brian didn't have the heart to whisk him away just as he was describing how the star of Bethlehem began wobbling in the sky when someone backstage must have accidentally touched the ropes.

"That was a wonderful performance, Gus," Helen exclaimed, displaying a very straight set of pearly whites. "You two must be very proud."

"We are," Lindsay said, ever the perfect WASP. "Anna was adorable, too." Brian looked down at the little girl clutching Helen's hand and recognised the sheep that had nearly fallen off the stage.

"Thank you." Helen turned to Brian. "I'd brought some chocolate cake for Anna as congratulations for finishing the show, and I'd love it if you guys could join us."

Of course, Gus traitorously cried out, "Yes! Cake!" before either Brian or Lindsay could decline. Fortunately, the Powers that Be seem to be in a kind mood, because the next moment Gus was twisting in Brian's arms and shouting, "Ma! Justin!"

Brian breathed out a sigh of relief, and saw Lindsay do the same. Gus anxiously asked Melanie and Justin if they'd seen him, and they assured him that they did, they saw the whole thing, and Gus had been absolutely spectacular. For once, Brian was quite glad to hand his energetic son over to Melanie, and drew Justin in for a quick kiss.

Remembering Helen, he turned back to her with his arm around Justin's waist. "Helen, this is my partner, Justin. Justin, this is Helen. Her daughter, Anna, is in Gus' class."

Justin beamed down at the little girl. "Hi, Anna. I thought you were the prettiest sheep I've ever seen." Brian decided that fate probably surrounded him with WASPs for a reason. "Nice to meet you, Helen."

"You, too," Helen replied, clearly on automatic now, her eyes on Brian's hand where a thumb was idly caressing Justin's flank.

"Helen," Lindsay moved in. "Thank you very much for your kind offer, but I'm afraid we have to get home. JR's babysitter leaves in about two hours, and in this weather there's a good chance of being stuck in traffic."

"Oh, it's all right," the woman said, with notable relief. "I'm sure Anna here will be perfectly happy to finish the cake, and we were planning on giving a few slices to the Marshalls, anyway."

"Come on, Gus," said Melanie, pressing a kiss to a cotton-clad cheek. "Let's go home."

#

"Brian," Justin gasped, fingers digging into his lover's hair. "We have to be quiet. Isn't Gus' room right next to this one?"

"Probably," Brian answered, right before sliding his mouth down Justin's cock, taking him all the way in with a proficiency even Justin had yet to master. He worked the swollen, stiff shaft, already weeping, with his tongue, coating it liberally with saliva, while Justin clamped his lips together and tried vainly to control the desperate whimpers coming out of his throat. Brian released it with a soft 'pop'. "Speak for yourself, Sunshine. I've got my mouth full."

Panting, Justin looked down at his smirking lover. "So, Lindsay tells me that Helen was seriously hitting on you."

Brian raised an eyebrow. "Are you _trying_ to get me to lose my hard-on?"

Chuckling, Justin suddenly pushed Brian back, forcefully enough that he ended up lying on the floor. Justin was sure that he could come from the sight of his lover's beautiful long, lean body sprawled over the faded rug. Only Brian Kinney could lie on the ground, totally naked, legs spread apart, and still look dominant. Without a word, Justin grabbed a condom lying conveniently within reach, tore the packet, slipped it on Brian's hard, engorged flesh, and pretty much sat down on it without preparation, impaling himself.

Both of them gasped loudly, but Justin didn't even wait for the burn to subside before he began to rock, his thighs flexing as they lifted his strong, compact body up until only the head of Brian's cock was in his hole, then the wet slap of meat against sweaty meat when Justin dropped himself back down, clenching his butt muscles for good measure. Soon both he and Brian were resorting to biting on their fists in an effort to remain relatively quiet. Once Justin established a regular rhythm, Brian began thrusting upwards just as Justin came down, increasing the force of his penetration; whether by design or good fortune, his cock would always hit Justin right on the prostate. The enforced quiet only made them both more desperate, and the pleasure grew at a startling speed, like the gas in a bottle of fizzy drink that's been shaken, building and building until it bordered on the edge of pain, and then a veritable geyser of heat erupted.

Brian goes first, releasing a stream of whispered curses like a devout man would a fervent prayer. A sweaty hand gripped Justin's neglected cock, almost hard enough to be painful, and pumped once, twice-

"Ah, ah, ah, oh fuck _Brian_!" came out nearly a squeak, as Justin constricted his throat to prevent himself from screaming. His hand gripped Brian's upper arms hard enough to bruise, his body still rocking up and down while it rode away the last waves of pleasure. Blinking away the spots of light that appeared in front of his eyes, Justin collapsed down onto Brian's chest.

"Brian? Justin?" Someone was knocking at the door.

"Shit." Justin meant to get up, really, but his nerves were still on down-time after the orgasmic explosion, and he ended falling back down right on Brian's knees.

"Fuck!" Brian yelped in pain.

"You don't have to get dressed, guys, we just wanted to share some news," Lindsay said through the door.

"We were thinking of telling you tomorrow, on Christmas, but we can't wait." Melanie added.

Justin managed to pull himself to his feet and helped Brian up, as well as disposed of the full condom. "What is it?" grumbled Brian, wincing when he put weight on his knees and glaring at Justin. "You've discovered that you don't need men to get pregnant?"

"Not quite. Open the door."

At Brian's shrug, Justin unlocked the door and opened it enough that he could peer at the two women's excited faces. "What is it?"

Lindsay glanced at her wife, smiling widely. "We've decided-"

"-to move back to Pittsburgh." Melanie finished.

There was a long silence. "Wow. Seriously?" Justin exclaimed. "Are you sure?"

"Yup. More sure than we were about moving here, in fact."

Justin looked over his shoulder at Brian. To say his lover looked taken aback would be an understatement. "Brian?"

The older man stepped closer to the door, uncaring if the women saw his naked, glistening, cum-spattered body. (Justin was already starting to get hard again) "Why?" he asked.

"It doesn't matter," Melanie answered, her eyes flickering towards Justin for a moment. "I'll call Michael after dinner, maybe Deb will be able to hold off the interrogation until tomorrow. We were wondering if you wanted to tell Gus, after he wakes up from his nap."

Brian held her gaze for a long while, before he nodded. "We'll do that." He smiled at Lindsay. "It'd be great to not have to fly over here every time he has a show or a game, especially if he keeps up this level of activity." A moment of hesitation, and then, "Thanks."

"Merry Christmas, Peter," she said, smiling sincerely and patting his cheek. "I guess we'll leave you two to celebrate."

"If you insist, mother Wendy," he said with a tongue in his cheek. He shut the door, and the footsteps receded down the hallway, but for a long time Brian didn't move, just rested his forehead against the polished wood. Justin, having a better sense now of when to be quiet, approached him and embraced him from behind.

Finally Brian turned and kissed him. "They're coming home, Sunshine," he whispered.

"Everyone does, eventually," Justin whispered back. "Hey, we should have another hour before Gus wakes up. You still owe me for setting up that interview when you know I don't like dragging my ass to New York, especially in the winter. One of these days, I'm going to title a piece "Justin Taylor Lives In Pittsburgh and Does Not Wish To Return to NYC". You'd better have packed me some clothes I can actually wear."

"Justin."

"Shut up?"

"Yeah."

Justin flopped onto the bed, and held out his arms invitingly. "Come on, stud, make me."

And Brian did. At least for the next hour.

~Finis~


End file.
